Tim held a mobile phone in his hand, paralysed with fear. It was probably the most important decision he could make. Should... should he call her? But... no... he would- could just make things even worse! But what if he didn't? Is that worse? Maybe a text message? Rattling his finger he wrote word after word, message after message, trying to compose something- Anything that would just make things go back to the way they were-
Tim sighed putting his phone down. "Back to the way they were," he mused to himself. It was a strange sentence. Change had come about to them both, and all he wanted was to just talk to Jon now. Maybe he could apologise? But... what did he have to apologise for? For... liking her? Did she blame him for not turning back?
Tim tried not to get angry about it, but there was maybe a little anger in there. Not much of course, and certainly not directed onto Jon... more just the whole weird situation. Why couldn't they both be happy? Tim was happy! he would do anything to make Jon happy...
He stared at the phone again... wondering who would call first.
"Would you like to come inside?" Asked Jeff's mother gesturing to the cottage.
Ricky and Belle smiled and accepted the invitation, followed by Anne. Jeff very carefully walked a little ahead with her longer strides and opened the door for them being very gentle as she did so. Her twin waterfall braids of hair, shimmered in the light as she moved, rocking back and forth. The giant clockwork girl had learned to be very careful of her surroundings lately, especially with the giant key on her back that could potentially knock things over.
After the smaller people went inside, Jeff crawled on her hands and knees to enter the house, rising to her full height within. She pulled a chair for each of them with a finger on the main dining table. From her perspective they were almost all like toys.
"Thank you Jeff" smiled Anne as she sat down looking around the house.
At this point Ricky had to stare at how tall Jeff was, with the celling and stairwell making it that much more apparent.
The giant clockwork sat down by the table, trying not to look too out of place... but that just seemed to bring more attention to herself.
Belle looked at what had happened to her boyfriend a little sadly. "Are you coping okay Jeff?" She asked.
Jeff managed a little smile. Hearing Belle's cheerful high pitched voice, seemed to resonate the gears within the giant child. "Uh... uh huh," she said. "I... I jus' really missed you- both of you an- I-I'm... I'm jus' so happy you came to see me." The giant girl was sure if she could cry, she would. She put her hands on her glass eyes, mimicking those tears and a little surprised, to find herself dry. She was still not used to being purely mechanical.
Ricky's glanced around the house. It was newly furbished, clearly a holiday house not meant for all day use. It was certainly a good find for Jeff and her mother to start things over again. Then she gasped as she saw... a key, leaning on the wall by the stairs.
A giant key...
It was about the size of a cello, and looked incredibly intricate and detailed. She recognised it easily, having one that was also explicitly hers. "Is... is that..."
Jeff's mother nodded. "It's Jeff's key. I.. guess you each have one too?"
each of the clockwork girls gave a reluctant nod. It was not a secret they liked to admit to anyone. But Jeff was certainly not just anyone. She now had the same issues as they did, if not worse. The idea of someone taking control of such a giant was scary... and that she was just a child now? A dangerous situation indeed.
Ricky looked at the key. It had such deep groves on it, and seemed to resonate with a ticking sound. Like...a heart beat? Mrs Aurelius went over to the giant key, and tried to pick it up to show them- but her hand slipped and all of them watched in horror as like a pendulum it fell onto the ground with a distinct 'ding' that vibrated the ground.
Jeff gasped feeling her gears skip a rotation at the impact. Her key- her key!
"S-Sorry Jeff," Said her mother quickly. She didn't know what these key's were capable of... she only knew that they were incredibly precious and unique to the clockwork girls. She tried to lean the key back up the wall, succeeding with a bit of work. It was a giant slab of metal, and quite heavy.
"So... that's Jeff's key," said Belle in thought. Then she smiled. "I think its quite a nice key really" she said with simple innocence.
Ricky nodded- though it was probably a bit odd to complement someone's 'key' in such a way. "Yes, it's... it's very nice," she said. "Where are you going to keep it?"
Mrs Aurelius looked unsure. "Well... there is a safe in the old house- but it's just a small wall safe. There is no way this will fit... I might have to buy a safety deposit box-"
"P-please mom, don't do that." said Jeff quickly.
"Honey, it's for the best. They can guard it better then I can."
"But... I... I can't- I..." How could she possibly explain this feeling. "I-I trust you with it though. You gotta keep it... please mom, don't make s-somone else hold it for you." The giant clockwork girl looked quite scared at the idea of it going anywhere outside her mother's possession.
Ricky and Belle looked sympathetically. They understood the dilemma. This feeling that... the key had to be with someone they trusted. While both had that fear, Jeff was a child now. That fear was heavily magnified as a result. This key was part of them in some way. Both of them trusted Anne of course for the last couple of months and have struck a great friendship to the girl.
"I... could keep it for her," said Anne in the end. "I already keep two of the keys in a secret place... and I'm completely unrelated so nobody will know where to look for it. If you trust me of course, Jeff..." she said carefully. She didn't want to worry the child after all.
Jeff looked at Anne. Could she... dare she trust this girl? Someone that was friends to Ricky... she trusted her fellow clockwork girls, but for one person to have all three of the keys? Was that really very wise? Then again... what choice did she have? If it stayed with her mother, people could go after her, couldn't they? Maybe try to coerce her into doing things.
"I... maybe. Jus' le'me think." she said, her gears already moving very quickly.
Anne took hold of the giant key, placing it in the back of the car. She had to fold the back seats to fit it in, and even then it was a squeeze as the end touched the radio on the dashboard. She closed the door, careful not to break anything. She then turned to the watching giant clockwork girl. "I promise Jeff, I will care for your key as much as Ricky's and Belle's," she said solemnly.
"T-Thanks Anne," said the girl quietly. "Will you... come back? An- we can continue to be um- friends?"
Anne smiled. "Of course we will! Are you going to go back to school?"
Jeff sat down looking annoyed. "They made fun of me cause I can't fit in the building, an 'cause I wear the same clothes all the time" said the girl a little huffily. "But- I guess I can try again." Maybe the teachers will have something in mind. That strange teacher Mrs Summers had that 'thinking' look when she went there last time.
Anne nodded getting into the car with Ricky and Belle in the front passenger seat. "Take care Jeff... we'll see you a lot, I'm sure."
They drove off, with the giant clockwork girl waving them away.
"Those classes are a waste of time mom!" screamed Julian.
"Look Julian, I'm being really patient with you believe me. But you can't tell me, you don't need to know this. You need to know. God! A normal girl would be learning a little bit each day about pregnancy, and you have to be given a crash course! So no young lady. You will attend each class, and every class until you have that baby. Are we clear?"
Julian stared then... just crashed. Her brain shut down in a haze of conflicting feelings. "M-Mom please- this isn't a normal baby. I..."
"I know it isn't. I told you I believe you," said her mother calmly.
"Then what makes you think I need to go through that? The gods- Selene- She- She can just...use her magic to-to- to- " the doe-girl frowned. Wasn't it obvious this was all just some... trial? Maybe if she showed she could take the pregnancy far enough, Selene would end the trial for her and accept her as an equal to Lucas. Maybe even give back her male body! The child could become a god- a wolf god like she used to be. Why must it be 'physically' born?
"I'm not saying she couldn't," said her mother calmly. "But... would She? Julian, if you want to have this child, you have to accept you might have to put all the work into it. It's very unlikely you will get a short cut."
"I just... want the child to- to just exist without... without me doing... that." she said with some anger.
Her mother placed a hand gently on her head. Julian wasn't really saying anything different that others might have said... who wouldn't want this to be 'easy'? "So you definitely want the child Julian? It is completely up to you... you do understand that right?"
Julian always tensed at the question. It was asked over and over, and again the conflicted answers came that she just didn't know. She knew she couldn't give it up... but neither did she want to go through the pregnancy. There had to be a way to have her cake and eat it! This was all just some test of Selenes. it.. it had to be. "Until this 'trial' is over, I'll play Her game," said Julian.
"Having a child is no 'game' young lady," said her mother sternly.
"No- I- I know it isn't. Sorry that isn't what I meant," said Julian flushing a bit. "I just... I know I can't give the child up." It was the only part of her that might still retain parts of... of being a wolf.
"Even if you have to go through it all?" asked her mother.
Julian tried to growl. Or at least her best imitation of one. "If I have to..." Though she was... 'fairly' certain, the goddess will spare her that. She had to...
...right?
Anne dropped Ricky and Belle home, as she looked to the giant key. She touched it carefully feeling the strange resonating tick it held. "Jeff you will know where the key is, if you have dire need to know," She commanded into it. It was the same thing she had given to each of the clockwork girls... even if she wasn't sure it 'could' work, given that they had already worked out commands couldn't give new memory. Still, the keys were different... they were part of them in some way. Maybe the usual rules wouldn't apply... but it did no harm in trying.
Anne had finished hiding the key away and decided to go to one of her favourite spots. After such an eventful day, she needed time to think and just... be. There was a bridge connecting a small river, where she used to play as a child. One side was the town, the other side... nothing but forest and countryside.
It was easy to imagine it as the final frontier of their world and the unknown, and right now she just wanted to be there. The walk was uneventful through the grassy hills of the suburbs. As she walked to the bridge, she was surprised to see someone there. Someone was standing, opposite to her usual spot, looking in the other direction- against the flow of the river and towards the town. He appeared to be about her own age, and might be someone from school.
"Hello," she said with a cautious smile.
The boy turned and gave a little smile back. "Hey," he said calmly a bit surprised to see someone else here too.
Anne went to the wall of the bridge, leaning back on it, not taking her eyes from the boy. Normally she would be watching the in the direction of flow of the river. It had been a long time since she could see this in the day, and was one of the things she had missed greatly. She did not expect any company. "So... you like bridges?" asked Anne.
"Not... really. I just wanted to go somewhere," he said.
"Oh... yeah I can understand. I'm Anne by the way." she said.
The boy turned to meet her gaze. "I'm Bryan," he replied.
The two looked at each other for some time. It was... awkward. Something about Bryan was off, and Anne could tell he looked a bit sad of something. "You sure you're okay?" She asked concerned.
"Uh- yeah I'm fine. Really. I just... well... eh, you wouldn't understand," he said kicking a stone and putting his hands in his pockets tensing up.
Anne shrugged. "Not if you don't tell me" she said simply. "But if you don't want to tell me, that's fine. Why don't you watch the bridge from here though? It's a much better view," she said gesturing to the other side.
Bryan, not really sure what she was getting at did so. He watched the flow of the river, heading out to the horizon and the unknown. It.. made him smile a little. Anne caught that smile and smiled back.
Byran didn't really want to open up to anyone. He opened up to Jack and was ridiculed for it. Besides, that newscaster's words did resonate something to him too. "um... I... I kinda... feel sad," he admitted. Oh what the hell, just say the secret. "I like the changed."
Anne giggled. How many times had she heard that? It was as if she was bumping into everyone that had this secret. "Lots of people do." she winked before the boy could think she was giggling 'at' him.
Bryan blushed taken aback by that reaction. "I- well- um-" he trailed off. "Then... you don't think it's weird that I might have wanted to be a changed?" He felt embarrassed to say this to a complete stranger- especially a girl.
"Nope," shrugged the girl honestly. "I didn't change either. Such is life," she said leaning lazily onto the wall. The wind was picking up a bit and she glanced back to Bryan. "But hey... there's always hope. Maybe we are changed, and we just don't know it. Maybe we will change in the future? once the universe makes up its mind on just what we can be."
Bryan smiled a bit more at that idea. "Maybe it will be something cool..."
"Ha, maybe!" smiled Anne. "Don't give up hope Byran. Things happen for a reason you know?"
"I... could have gone out in the sunlight any time. I didn't realise it would end," admitted the boy. "Had I known... I would have done it a lot sooner. I was just too late. Too... late. Too chicken."
Anne looked very sympathetic. "The sun can still change some people... we just don't know how or why... or even when."
The two stared outwards into the running waters, sharing the bridge together. It was a quiet time for the two humans... just relaxing and seeing the future play out.
